Ice tray for mechanical refrigerators



y 1932- G. H. KENNEDY. JR 3 ICE TRAY FOR MECHANICAL REFRIGERATORS FiledApril 4, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l llll i July 26, 1932. G. H. 'KEN-NEDY. JR

ICE TRAY FOR MECHANICAL REFRIGERATORS Filed April 4, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet2 Patented July 26,

- UNITED s'rA'ras GEORGE E. KENNEDY, JR, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS ICETRAY FOR MECHANICAL REFRIGEEATORS Application filed April 4, 1829.Serial No. 352,562.

The present invention relates to ice trays, as commonly used in domesticmechanical refrigerators for the production of a multiplicity of iceblocks, and has particular reference to a novel structure whichfacilitates the removal of the individual ice blocks from the tray.

Practically all domesticmechanical refrigerators provide space in theircooling units for one or more multi-compartment ice containers, commonlycalled ice cube trays. The removal of the individual ice cubes from suchtrays as are now in ordinary use is inevitably a disagreeable task,involving not only an excessive wastage of running warm water forthawing purposes, but also, usually, an uncontrolled release of thecubes within the sink or basin over which the thawing operation iscarried out,this release exposing thecubes to possible contamination andalso putting the user to the trouble of picking up the cubes and placingthem in a dish or pan. These difliculties arise from the fact that theremoval of the ice requires the ordinary tray to be inverted, so thatits contents can fall out; only by such inversion can a solid of cubicalor similar form be removed from a correspondingly shaped space orcompartment which is open only at the top.

The present invention provides a tray construction which permits theready removal or picking out of the individual blocks or pieces of ice,with the tray in its normal or non-1nverted position. Other and furtherobjects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing detailed description thereof, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a perspective view, partlycut away, of an ice tray embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a largerscale sectional view, on the plane of the line 22,Fig. 1, and showing the operation of removing one of the individual iceblocks.

Fig. 3 is a perspective View of one of said individual ice blocks.

Fig. 4 isa diagrammatic view illustrating the principle of theinvention.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view, partly cut greatly away, illustrating theadaptability of my invention to the freeing of the ice blocks byelectrical thawing means.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view on the line 66 of My proved trafy may be ofany suitable material, such, example, as thin cast or pressed metal; itis characterized by its presentation of an ice cavity or cavities Mwherein the ice block, formed by the freezing of the water with whichthe cavity is filled, is turnable,the turning movement effecting anelevation of a portion of the block above the top edge of the cavity,whereby the block may be grasped in ones fingers and removed from thecavity. That is to say, in the tray 1 of Figs. 1 and 2, each compartmentor ice-space 2, open, of course, at the top, is defined by only threewalls or surfaces; these are a pair of spaced substantially verticalside walls 3, 3, of an outline corresponding substantially to the lowerhalf of a circle, and a single concave bottom wall 4, connecting theside walls 3, 3 and constituting a surface of revolution as generated bya substantially straight line on the same radius as the curved edges ofthe side walls 3, 3.

Instead of the true cylindric surfaces 4, 4, as shown in Fig. 1, for thebottoms of the ice cavities, the tray, according to my invention, mayhave ice cavities 2', as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, where the substantiallyvertical side walls 3, 3 merge by an easy curvature into the bottomsurface 4,the latter, of course, being of the same characteristic as thesurface 4 of Fig. 1, namely a surface of revolution which is generated'in this instance by a curved line of large radius, which at its endsmerges by sharper curves into the planes of the side walls 3, 3.

The freezing compartments or ice-spaces 2 or 2' are preferably providedin a plurality of rows, running either lengthwise or crosswise of thetray, as desired. Thus the total tray area at the top is divided, by theupper flat edges ofthe partitions or walls 3, 3 and by the meeting edges5, 5 of adja- '5 cent curved bottom surfaces 4 or 4, into a plurality ofsubstantially rectan ular areas, each of which is the open top 0 one ofthe freezing compartments 2 or 2.

In the use ofsuch a tray, as shown in Fig. 1, the several compartments2, 2 are filled, in the usual way, with water; if desired, provision maybe made for the seepage of water between adjacent compartments, toequalize the water level, by means of shallow .15 notches 6, 6 in thelower edges of the partitions 3, 3. When the tray, with its contentschanged to ice, is removed from the cooling unit of the refrigerator, itis not necessary to invert the same, in order to remove the individualblocks of ice. Instead, the tray is kept right side. up, for theselective and separate removal therefrom, in the man.- ner illustratedby Fi 2, of any individual ice block or blocks 7, %,this turningmovement, to permit any of the blocks 7 to be "seized in the fingers,being possible as soon as the slight thawing necessary to loosen thesurface engagement of a block with the three walls of its space orcavity has ensued (for example, by placing the tray, or holding aportion thereof, right side up, in a shallow pan or dish of water, or byapplying a wet rag to the under side of the tray). 01', even in theabsence of thawing as above de- 5 scribed, any adhesive tendency betweenthe blocks 7, 7 and their respective cavities can be quickl andcompletely overcome simply byslightfy warping or twisting the tray as itis held by its ends in the two hands of the 4 user, this causing aslight momentary distortion of the thin walls of each cavity that issufl'icient to loosen the adhesion to said walls of the non-yielding iceblocks. With the several blocks 7, 7 thus freed, either by thawing or bymomentary slight distortion of the tray, it is only necessary to exert alight downward pressure with the finger against one end of a block 7 tocause its other end to tip up above the level of the tray 1, in positionto be grasped and lifted out of the compartment 2,the turning beinganalogous to that of a cylindrical shaft in its bearing. The sameaction, of course, is possible with the ice blocks 7', of the slightlydifferent form shown in Figs. 7 and 8 that are formed in the icecavities 2' of the tray of Figs. 5 and 6.

No more than the actual number of ice blocks 7 or 7 that are wanted,need to be removed from the tray 1 of my improved construction, acharacteristic which distinguishes it radically from the ice traysheretofore in use, in one type of which, employing a grid ormultiple-partition member, separable from the tray proper, the entireice mass, with such grid imbedded in it must be first dumped out of thetray, before the operation of thawing off the individual cubes can beproceeded with; and in another type of which, where the tray is dividedinto cubical spaces by integral partitions, there is invariably anuncontrolled spilling of the ice cubes from the invertedtray into thesink.

My invention, obviously, is not limited to a traywhose ice-spaces are ofthe exact semicylind'ric form shown in Fig. 2, where the greatest depthof'the ice-space is the radius of the concave Wall 4. Ice-spaces oflesser or greater depth may be provided, Without departure from theunderlying principle of my invention; for example, as showndiagrammatically in Fig. 4, the characteristic tipping or turningmovement of the ice block, to permit of its being lifted out of the icespace, is obtainable, even though the depth of the icespace be verymeasurably increased over that shown in Fig. 2. As shown by Fig. 4, thelimit of depth is reached when the chord aa (corresponding to the flatupper edge of side wall 3) is shortened to the extent'that it no longerexceeds the length of its perpendicular bisector bb that passes throughthe center of curvature 0. Thus the maximum ice-space depth which ispermissible according to the invention is more than fifty per cent inexcess of the radius of curvature of the concave bottom surface 4.

On the account of the ability to discharge ice blocks from my improvedtray construction without inverting the tray, it lends itself moreadvantageously than the previously-known types of trays to the use of athawing agent incorporated in the tray itself, as distinguished from theuse of an extraneous thawing medium, such as running warm water. That isto say, a tray of the ordinary construction from which the ice blocksmust be spilled out more or less indiscriminately into a receivingvessel, or the like, would derive no particular advantage from a thawingor freeing operation obtained without resort to extraneous thawing,since the same exposure of the ice blocks to contamination, and thesame,inevitable individual rehandling of the blocks, to replace thosenot used in the 1 spaces of the tray, would still be required. On thecontrary, a tray such as contemplated by my invention lends itselfpeculiarly, both in construction and in operation, to the advantages ofthawing or freeing the ice blocks 3 by self-contained means constitutinga part of the tray, and adapted, for example, to the production ofelectrical heat. As shown in Figs. 5 and 6, such a tray, providing theice cavities 2 of my invention, may be disposed 3 within and in coveringrelation to a container 8 of the same rectangular form, but of slightlygreater depth, the several ice cavities 2, 2 thus occupying the majorportion of the space inclosed by the walls and bottom of the con- 1tainer 8. By means of a sealed joint, as shown at 9, between therecessed member and the rim of container-8, the interior of the latteris made inaccessible to the entrance of water, and thus is adapted tocontain a suitable arrangement of electric heating elements 10, of thesame general character as those found inelectric flat-irons and likearticles. Electric current for said elements 10, 10 to supply thenecessary heat for loosening the ice blocks in the cavities 2, 2 may besupplied through a suitable connection plug 11 carried by the front wallof the container 8 and adapted to be connected, momentarily, 1n theusual way, to a convenience outlet or lighting socket, not shown.

In thislast-described form of my invention, the substantially verticalside walls 3, 3 of adjacent ice cavities 2 may be spaced apart, as shownin Fig. 6, instead of being of the single-thickness construction shownin Fig. 1; under these conditions, to obtaln scepage of water betweenadjacent cavit es 2, 2 and equalization of the water level 111 a row ofsuch cavities, tubular connecting members 12, 12 may be employed. Withsuch a construction, the freeing of the ice .blocks by the applicationof electric heat is promoted and hastened by the use of additionalheating elements 13, 13, whose effect is concentrated on the relativelysmall ice content of each tu-' bular member 12. Almost immediately, uponthe flow of current through the heating elements 13, 13, the contents ofeach tubular member 12 is liquefied, expanded, and warmed, and becauseof its free access to the ice blocks in the adjacent cavities 2, 2, itseffect is to very promptly and effectively destroy the adhesion oftheice surfaces to the three walls of each such cavity.

I claim:

1. As a new article of manufacture, an ice tray or receptacle for use inmechanical refrigerators, and formed with an ice space or cavity havingsubstantially vertical sides, connected by a concave bottom in the formof a surface of revolution of sufiicient angular extent to permitturning or rocking movement of the ice block formed in said space orcavity. v

2. A receptacle or tray for the freezing of ice blocks in mechanicalrefrigerators, and having a freezing cavity which presents a surface ofrevolution to an ice block formed by freezing, when said cavity isfilled with water, said surface of revolution being of sufficientangular extent to permitsaid block, by pressure'applied to its exposedsurface along one edge, to be turned, to "project a portion thereofabove the opposite edge of said cavity.

3. In a tray or receptacle for the freezing of ice blocks in mechanicalrefrigerators. a freezing cavity having an extension of relatively smallice capacity, and means for concentrating on said extension the heatemployed to free the ice block contained in said cavity.

4. In atray' or receptacle for the freezing of ice blocks in' mechanicalrefrigerators, a pair, of freezing cavities joined by a passage ofrelatively small ice capacity, and means for concentrating on saidpassage the heat employed to free-the ice blocks contained in saidcavities. 5. As a new article of manufacture, an ice tray for mechanicalrefrigerators, providing a row of independent cavities separated fromeach other, when the tray is filled with water, by substantiallyvertical walls, the other Walls of said cavit es occupying a commonsurface .of revolution of sufiicient angular extent to permitindependent turning or rocking movement of each of the ice blocks in itscavity.

6. As a new article of manufacture, an ice tray for mechanicalrefrigerators, the top area of said tray having, coterminous with itsside edges, the edges of a plurality of substantially verticalpartitions, and the bottom of said tray being constituted by revolutionsurfaces generated on axes substantially at right angles to the planesof said partitions.

7. As a new article of manufacture, an ice tray providing a plurality ofindependent cavities, each having substantially vertical walls that riseto the same height as the walls of said tray, the latter having aconcave bottom in the form of a surface of revolution of suflicientangular extent to permit turning or rocking movement of the ice blockformed in each cavity, in combination with means incorporated in saidtray for freeing said blocks for such movements by electric heat.

8. As a new article of manufacture, an ice tray providing a plurality ofindependent cavities, each cavity having a pair of oppositesubstantially vertical walls that rise to the same height as the wallsof said tray, the latter having a concave bottom in the form of asurface of revolution of sufficient angular extent to permit independentturning or rocking movement of each ice block in its cavity.

9. An ice receptacle or tray for use with mechanical refrigerators,providing a plurality of independentcavities which segregate the blocksof ice formed by freezing, when said tray is substantially filled withwater, each cavity being open at the top in opposition to a confiningsurface in the form of a surface of revolution of suflicient angularextent to permit turning or rocking movement of the ice block formed insaid cavity, whereby said block, by pressure applied at one edge, mayhave its opposite edge moved upwardly, for seizure and removal from thecavity.

10. An ice tray for use with mechanical refrigerators, providing aplurality of independent cavities which segregate the blocks of iceformed by freezing, when said tray is substantially filled with water,each of which cavities presents to its contained ice block a surfaceof-revolution having an angular extent of more than 90, whereby saidblock is turnable, by pressure against one edge, to project aportionthereof above the opposite edge of said cavity.

11. A receptacle or tray for the freezing of ice-blocks in mechanicalrefrigerators, and having a plurality of independent cavities securingsegregation 'of their contents when said tray is substantially filledwith water, each of said cavities being open at the top and presentingopposite substantially parallel limiting top edges, the contained iceblock being therein turnable by downward pressure thereon adjacent oneof the limiting edges of said cavity to permit removal of said blockfrom the cavity without inverting the tray.

12. A receptacle or tray for the freezing of ice blocks in mechanicalrefrigerators, and

having a plurality of independent cavities securing segregation of theircontents when said tray is substantially filled with water, each iceblock being turnable in its cavity by downward pressure thereon adjacentone of the limiting edges of said cavity, to permit removal of saidblock from the cavity without inverting the tray, and means for freeingsaid block for such turning by electric heat.

13. As a new article of manufacture, an ice tray for mechanicalrefrigerators, said tray having a plurality of independent cavitiessecuring segregation of their contents when said tray is substantiallyfilled with water, each of said cavities having an interior concavebottom surface of substantially cylindric form, and of suflicientangular extent to permit turning or rocking movement thereon of the iceblock formed in said cavity.

14. As a new article of manufacture, an ice tray for mechanicalrefrigerators, said tray having a plurality of independent cavitiessecuring segregation of their contents when said tray issubstantially-filled with water, each of said cavities having aninterior concave bottom surface of substantially semicylindric form,whereby an ice block formed in said cavity may be rocked or turned bypressure applied thereto adjacent one upper edge of said concave bottomsurface.

GEORGE H. KENNEDY, JR.

